Performance measurement job control for 5g networks and network slicing

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods of performance management over a life cycle is provided. A measurement job control service producer receives, from an authorized consumer, a request to consume a measurement job control service. The request is analyzed, appropriate action is taken to satisfy the request and a response indicating the request result is generated. A request is to create or terminate a measurement job to collect the performance data for a NF, NSSI, NSI, or network. To create a job, the producer checks if the job can be supported by an existing job, creates the job if no such existing job exists, and otherwise responds that the job can be supported by the existing job. To terminate a job, the producer checks if the job is serving other consumers, terminates the job if other consumers are not being served, and otherwise responds that the job is currently serving other consumers.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e)to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/634,000, filed Feb.22, 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments pertain to radio access networks (RANs). Some embodimentsrelate to cellular and wireless local area network (WLAN) networks,including Third Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPPLTE) networks and LTE advanced (LTE-A) networks as well as legacynetworks, 4^(th) generation (4G) networks and 5^(th) generation (5G)networks. Some embodiments relate to management of performancemeasurement jobs.

BACKGROUND

The use of 3GPP LTE systems (including LTE and LTE-Advanced systems) hasincreased due to both an increase in the types of devices user equipment(UEs) using network resources as well as the amount of data andbandwidth being used by various applications, such as video streaming,operating on these UEs. With the vast increase in number and diversityof communication devices, the corresponding network environment,including routers, switches, bridges, gateways, firewalls, and loadbalancers, has become increasingly complicated, especially with theadvent of next generation (NG) systems.

To add further complexity to the variety of services provided by thenetwork devices, many physical implementations of the network devicesare propriety and may be unable to incorporate new or adjusted physicalcomponents to compensate for different network conditions. This has ledto the development of Network Function Virtualization (NFV), which mayprovide a virtualized environment able to provide any network functionor service able to be delivered on general purpose computing systems ina data center as software applications called Virtual Network Functions(VNFs). The use of NFV may provide flexibility in configuring networkelements, enabling dynamic network optimization and quicker adaptationof new technologies. As 5G systems develop, flexibility in determiningperformance management of such systems, including lifecycle ofperformance measurement jobs also is to be developed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In the figures, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numeralsmay describe similar components in different views. Like numerals havingdifferent letter suffixes may represent different instances of similarcomponents. The figures illustrate generally, by way of example, but notby way of limitation, various embodiments discussed in the presentdocument.

FIG. 1 illustrates combined communication system in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a communication device inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates an NFV network management architecture in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates measurement job control services in accordance withsome embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustratespecific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practicethem. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical,process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodimentsmay be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments.Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalentsof those claims.

FIG. 1 illustrates a combined communication system in accordance withsome embodiments. The system 100 includes 3GPP LTE/4G and NG networkfunctions. A network function can be implemented as a discrete networkelement on a dedicated hardware, as a software instance running ondedicated hardware, or as a virtualized function instantiated on anappropriate platform, e.g., dedicated hardware or a cloudinfrastructure.

The evolved packet core (EPC) of the LTE/4G network contains protocoland reference points defined for each entity. These core network (CN)entities may include a mobility management entity (MME) 122, servinggateway (S-GW) 124, and paging gateway (P-GW) 126.

In the NG network, the control plane and the user plane may beseparated, which may permit independent scaling and distribution of theresources of each plane. The UE 102 may be connected to either an accessnetwork or random access network (RAN) 110 and/or may be connected tothe NG-RAN 130 (gNB) or an Access and Mobility Function (AMF) 142. TheRAN may be an eNB, a gNB or a general non-3GPP access point, such asthat for Wi-Fi. The NG core network may contain multiple networkfunctions besides the AMF 112. The network functions may include a UserPlane Function (UPF) 146, a Session Management Function (SMF) 144, aPolicy Control Function (PCF) 132, an Application Function (AF) 148, anAuthentication Server Function (AUSF) 152 and User Data Management (UDM)128. The various elements are connected by the NG reference points shownin FIG. 1.

The AMF 142 may provide UE-based authentication, authorization, mobilitymanagement, etc. The AMF 142 may be independent of the accesstechnologies. The SMF 144 may be responsible for session management andallocation of IP addresses to the UE 102. The SMF 144 may also selectand control the UPF 146 for data transfer. The SMF 144 may be associatedwith a single session of the UE 102 or multiple sessions of the UE 102.This is to say that the UE 102 may have multiple 5G sessions. DifferentSMFs may be allocated to each session. The use of different SMFs maypermit each session to be individually managed. As a consequence, thefunctionalities of each session may be independent of each other. TheUPF 126 may be connected with a data network, with which the UE 102 maycommunicate, the UE 102 transmitting uplink data to or receivingdownlink data from the data network.

The AF 148 may provide information on the packet flow to the PCF 132responsible for policy control to support a desired QoS. The PCF 132 mayset mobility and session management policies for the UE 102. To thisend, the PCF 132 may use the packet flow information to determine theappropriate policies for proper operation of the AMF 142 and SMF 144.The AUSF 152 may store data for UE authentication. The UDM 128 maysimilarly store the UE subscription data.

The gNB 130 may be a standalone gNB or a non-standalone gNB, e.g.,operating in Dual Connectivity (DC) mode as a booster controlled by theeNB 110 through an X2 or Xn interface. At least some of functionality ofthe EPC and the NG CN may be shared (alternatively, separate componentsmay be used for each of the combined component shown). The eNB 110 maybe connected with an MME 122 of the EPC through an S1 interface and witha SGW 124 of the EPC 120 through an S1-U interface. The MME 122 may beconnected with an HSS 128 through an S6a interface while the UDM isconnected to the AMF 142 through the N8 interface. The SGW 124 mayconnected with the PGW 126 through an S5 interface (control plane PGW-Cthrough S5-C and user plane PGW-U through S5-U). The PGW 126 may serveas an IP anchor for data through the internet.

The NG CN, as above, may contain an AMF 142, SMF 144 and UPF 146, amongothers. The eNB 110 and gNB 130 may communicate data with the SGW 124 ofthe EPC 120 and the UPF 146 of the NG CN. The MME 122 and the AMF 142may be connected via the N26 interface to provide control informationthere between, if the N26 interface is supported by the EPC 120. In someembodiments, when the gNB 130 is a standalone gNB, the 5G CN and the EPC120 may be connected via the N26 interface.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a communication device inaccordance with some embodiments. The communication device 200 may be aUE such as a specialized computer, a personal or laptop computer (PC), atablet PC, or a smart phone, dedicated network equipment such as an eNB,a server running software to configure the server to operate as anetwork device, or any machine capable of executing instructions(sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by thatmachine. For example, the communication device 200 may be implemented asone or more of the devices shown in FIG. 1.

Examples, as described herein, may include, or may operate on, logic ora number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules and componentsare tangible entities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specifiedoperations and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In anexample, circuits may be arranged (e.g., internally or with respect toexternal entities such as other circuits) in a specified manner as amodule. In an example, the whole or part of one or more computer systems(e.g., a standalone, client or server computer system) or one or morehardware processors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g.,instructions, an application portion, or an application) as a modulethat operates to perform specified operations. In an example, thesoftware may reside on a machine readable medium. In an example, thesoftware, when executed by the underlying hardware of the module, causesthe hardware to perform the specified operations.

Accordingly, the term “module” (and “component”) is understood toencompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, specifically configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily(e.g., transitorily) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in aspecified manner or to perform part or all of any operation describedherein. Considering examples in which modules are temporarilyconfigured, each of the modules need not be instantiated at any onemoment in time. For example, where the modules comprise ageneral-purpose hardware processor configured using software, thegeneral-purpose hardware processor may be configured as respectivedifferent modules at different times. Software may accordingly configurea hardware processor, for example, to constitute a particular module atone instance of time and to constitute a different module at a differentinstance of time.

The communication device 200 may include a hardware processor 202 (e.g.,a central processing unit (CPU), a GPU, a hardware processor core, orany combination thereof), a main memory 204 and a static memory 206,some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interlink(e.g., bus) 208. The main memory 204 may contain any or all of removablestorage and non-removable storage, volatile memory or non-volatilememory. The communication device 200 may further include a display unit210 such as a video display, an alphanumeric input device 212 (e.g., akeyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 214 (e.g., amouse). In an example, the display unit 210, input device 212 and UInavigation device 214 may be a touch screen display. The communicationdevice 200 may additionally include a storage device (e.g., drive unit)216, a signal generation device 218 (e.g., a speaker), a networkinterface device 220, and one or more sensors, such as a globalpositioning system (GPS) sensor, compass, accelerometer, or othersensor. The communication device 200 may further include an outputcontroller, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB),parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near fieldcommunication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate or control one ormore peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.).

The storage device 216 may include a non-transitory machine readablemedium 222 (hereinafter simply referred to as machine readable medium)on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions224 (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of thetechniques or functions described herein. The instructions 224 may alsoreside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 204,within static memory 206, and/or within the hardware processor 202during execution thereof by the communication device 200. While themachine readable medium 222 is illustrated as a single medium, the term“machine readable medium” may include a single medium or multiple media(e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated cachesand servers) configured to store the one or more instructions 224.

The term “machine readable medium” may include any medium that iscapable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution bythe communication device 200 and that cause the communication device 200to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure,or that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying data structures usedby or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting machine readablemedium examples may include solid-state memories, and optical andmagnetic media. Specific examples of machine readable media may include:non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g.,Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), ElectricallyErasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memorydevices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removabledisks; magneto-optical disks; Random Access Memory (RAM); and CD-ROM andDVD-ROM disks.

The instructions 224 may further be transmitted or received over acommunications network using a transmission medium 226 via the networkinterface device 220 utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols(e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission controlprotocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transferprotocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet datanetwork (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellularnetworks), Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless datanetworks. Communications over the networks may include one or moredifferent protocols, such as Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.16family of standards known as WiMax, IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, aLong Term Evolution (LTE) family of standards, a Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P)networks, a next generation (NG)/5^(th) generation (5G) standards amongothers. In an example, the network interface device 220 may include oneor more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or oneor more antennas to connect to the transmission medium 226.

FIG. 3 illustrates an NFV network management architecture in accordancewith some embodiments. As illustrated, the NFV network managementarchitecture 300 may include a number of elements (each of which maycontain physical and/or virtualized components), including a NetworkVirtualization Function Infrastructure (NVFI) 310, Network elements(NEs) 390, Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) 320, a Domain Manager (DM)330, an Element Manager (EM) 332, a Network Manager (NM) 342, and an NFVManagement and Orchestration (NFV-MANO) 380. The NFV-MANO 380, which maybe replaced as indicated herein by multiple NFV-MANO, may comprise aVirtualized Infrastructure Manager (VIM) 340, a VNF Manager (VNFM) 350,and a Network Function Virtualization Orchestrator (NFVO) 360. The NM342 may be contained in an Operations Support System/Business SupportSystem (OSS/BSS) 320, with the DM 330 and NM 342 forming the 3GPPmanagement system 314.

The NFV network management architecture 300 may be implemented by, forexample, a data center comprising one or more servers in the cloud. TheNFV network management architecture 300, in some embodiments, mayinclude one or more physical devices and/or one or more applicationshosted on a distributed computing platform, a cloud computing platform,a centralized hardware system, a server, a computing device, and/or anexternal network-to-network interface device, among others. In somecases, the virtualized resource performance measurement may include, forexample, latency, jitter, bandwidth, packet loss, nodal connectivity,compute, network, and/or storage resources, accounting, fault and/orsecurity measurements. In particular, the NEs 390 may comprise physicalnetwork functions (PNF) including both hardware such as processors,antennas, amplifiers, transmit and receive chains, as well as software.The VNFs 320 may be instantiated in one or more servers. Each of theVNFs 320, DM 330 and the NEs 390 may contain an EM 322, 332, 392.

The NFV Management and Orchestration (NFV-MANO) 380 may manage the NFVI310. The NFV-MANO 380 may orchestrate the instantiation of networkservices, and the allocation of resources used by the VNFs 320. TheNFV-MANO 380 may, along with the OSS/BSS 340, be used by externalentities to deliver various NFV business benefits. The OSS/BSS 340 mayinclude the collection of systems and management applications that aservice provider may use to operate their business; management ofcustomers, ordering, products and revenues—for example, payment oraccount transactions, as well as telecommunications network componentsand supporting processes including network component configuration,network service provisioning and fault handling. The NFV-MANO 380 maycreate or terminate a VNF 320, increase or decrease the VNF capacity, orupdate or upgrade software and/or configuration of a VNF. The NFV-MANO380 may include a Virtualized Infrastructure Manager (VIM) 370, a VNFManager (VNFM) 350 and a NFV Orchestrator (NFVO) 360. The NFV-MANO 380may have access to various data repositories including network services,VNFs available, NFV instances and NFVI resources with which to determineresource allocation.

The VIM 370 may control and manage the NFVI resources via Nf-Vireference points within the infrastructure sub-domain. The VIM 370 mayfurther collect and forward performance measurements and events to theVNFM 350 via Vi-VNFM and to the NFVO 360 via Or-Vi reference points. TheNFVO 360 may be responsible for managing new VNFs and other networkservices, including lifecycle management of different network services,which may include VNF instances, global resource management, validationand authorization of NFVI resource requests and policy management forvarious network services. The NFVO 360 may coordinate VNFs 320 as partof network services that jointly realize a more complex function,including joint instantiation and configuration, configuring requiredconnections between different VNFs 320, and managing dynamic changes ofthe configuration. The NFVO 360 may provide this orchestration throughan OS-Ma-NFVO reference point with the NM 342. The VNFM 350 mayorchestrate NFVI resources via the VIM 370 and provide overallcoordination and adaptation for configuration and event reportingbetween the VIM 320 and the EMs and NMs. The former may involvediscovering available services, managing virtualized resourceavailability/allocation/release and providing virtualized resourcefault/performance management. The latter may involve lifecyclemanagement that may include instantiating a VNF, scaling and updatingthe VNF instances, and terminating the network service, releasing theNFVI resources for the service to the NFVI resource pool to be used byother services.

The VNFM 350 may be responsible for the lifecycle management of the VNFs320 via the Ve-VNFM-VNF reference point and may interface to EMs 322,332 through the Ve-VNFM-EM reference point. The VNFM 350 may be assignedthe management of a single VNF 320, or the management of multiple VNFs320 of the same type or of different types. Thus, although only one VNFM350 is shown in FIG. 3, different VNFMs 350 may be associated with thedifferent VNFs 320 for performance measurement and otherresponsibilities. The VNFM 350 may provide a number of VNFfunctionalities, including instantiation (and configuration if requiredby the VNF deployment template), software update/upgrade, modification,scaling out/in and up/down, collection of NFVI performance measurementresults and faults/events information and correlation to VNFinstance-related events/faults, healing, termination, lifecyclemanagement change notification, integrity management, and eventreporting.

The VIM 370 may be responsible for controlling and managing the NFVIcompute, storage and network resources, usually within one operator'sInfrastructure Domain. The VIM 370 may be specialized in handling acertain type of NFVI resource (e.g. compute-only, storage-only,networking-only), or may be capable of managing multiple types of NFVIresources. The VIM 370 may, among others, orchestrate theallocation/upgrade/release/reclamation of NFVI resources (including theoptimization of such resources usage) and manage the association of thevirtualized resources to the physical compute, storage, networkingresources, and manage repository inventory-related information of NFVIhardware resources (compute, storage, networking) and software resources(e.g. hypervisors), and discovery of the capabilities and features (e.g.related to usage optimization) of such resources.

The NVFI 310 may itself contain various virtualized and non-virtualizedresources. These may include a plurality of virtual machines (VMs) 312that may provide computational abilities (CPU), one or more memories 314that may provide storage at either block or file-system level and one ormore networking elements 316 that may include networks, subnets, ports,addresses, links and forwarding rules to ensure intra- and inter-VNFconnectivity.

Each VNF 320 may provide a network function that is decoupled frominfrastructure resources (computational resources, networking resources,memory) used to provide the network function. Although not shown, theVNFs 320 can be chained with other VNFs 320 and/or other physicalnetwork function to realize a network service. The virtualized resourcesmay provide the VNFs 320 with desired resources. Resource allocation inthe NFVI 310 may simultaneously meet numerous requirements andconstraints, such as low latency or high bandwidth links to othercommunication endpoints.

The VNFs 320, like the NEs 390 may be managed by one or more EMs 322,332, 392. The EM may provide functions for management of virtual orphysical network elements, depending on the instantiation. The EM maymanage individual network elements and network elements of asub-network, which may include relations between the network elements.For example, the EM 322 of a VNF 320 may be responsible forconfiguration for the network functions provided by a VNF 320, faultmanagement for the network functions provided by the VNF 320, accountingfor the usage of VNF functions, and collecting performance measurementresults for the functions provided by the VNF 320.

The EMs 322, 332, 392 (whether in a VNF 320 or NE 390) may be managed bythe NM 342 of the OSSiBSS 340 through Itf-N reference points. The NM 342may provide functions with the responsibility for the management of anetwork, mainly as supported by the EM 332 but may also involve directaccess to the network elements. The NM 342 may connect and disconnectVNF external interfaces to physical network function interfaces at therequest of the NFVO 360.

As above, the various components of the system may be connected throughdifferent reference points. The references points between the NFV-MANO380 and the functional blocks of the system may include an Os-Ma-NFVObetween the NM 342 and NFVO 360, a Ve-VNFM-EM between the EM 322, 332and the VNFM 350, a Ve-VNFM-VNF between a VNF 320 and the VNFM 350, aNf-Vi between the NFVI 310 and the VIM 370, an Or-VNFM between the NFVO360 and the VNFM 350, an Or-Vi between the NFVO 360 and the VIM 370, anda Vi-VNFM between the VIM 370 and the VNFM 350. An Or-Vi interface mayimplement the VNF software image management interface and interfaces forthe management of virtualized resources, their catalogue, performanceand failure on the Or-Vi reference point. An Or-Vnfm interface mayimplement a virtualized resource management interface on the Or-Vnfmreference point. A Ve-Vnfm interface may implement a virtualizedresource performance/fault management on the Ve-Vnfmi reference point.

As above, with the advent of 5G networks and disparate devices (such asMachine Type Communication (MTC), enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) andUltra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC) devices) usingthese networks, network management and network slicing is evolvingtowards a service based architecture in which virtualization is used. Toprovide network management and slicing, a number of work items may bedeveloped, including network provisioning and resource management, faultsupervision, and performance management (PM) and reporting.

Network slicing is a form of virtualization that allows multiple virtualnetworks to run on top of a common shared physical networkinfrastructure. Network slicing serves service requirements by providingisolation between network resources, as well as permitting an optimizedtopology and specific configuration to be developed for each NetworkSlice Instance (NSI). The different parts of an NSI may be grouped asNetwork Slice Subnets that allow the lifecycle of a Network Slice SubnetInstance (NSSI) to be managed independently from the lifecycle of anNSI. The NSSIs may be implemented as different core networks, such RANand 5GC.

Lifecycle management of an NSSI may include creation, activation,modification, de-activation and termination of the NSSI. Similarmanagement occurs for NSIs. During creation, for example, resources areallocated and configured to satisfy the NSI or NSSI requirements. Duringoperation, performance measurements generation, collection and reportingmay be undertaken.

However, while legacy PM Integration Reference Points (IRPs) such asBasic core management (CM) IRP, Bulk CM IRP, Kernel CM IRP, are able tooperate for the existing network management architecture, the existingnetwork management architecture is not a service-based architecture. Thenetwork management architecture therefore may be unable to be used toprovide PM for 5G networks and network slicing.

FIG. 4 illustrates measurement job control services in accordance withsome embodiments. The services provided by each measurement job controlservice are shown, which may be performed by one or more of the devicesshown in FIGS. 1-3. The producer may be for example, in an EM (managingthe network functions), or within the controlled NF or a separateelement connected with the controlled NF. As illustrated, the networkmeasurement job control service producer consumes an NF measurement jobcontrol service to produce the network measurement job control service,the NSSI measurement job control service producer consumes an NFmeasurement job control service or another NSSI measurement job controlservice to produce the NSSI measurement job control service, and the NSImeasurement job control service producer consumes an NF measurement jobcontrol service, and/or NSSI measurement job control service to producethe NSI measurement job control service. The original NSSI measurementjob control service producer may send requests for performancemeasurement jobs to the other NSSI measurement job control serviceproducer(s) and/or NF measurement job control service producer(s),receive the responses about the measurement job creation(s). Theoriginal NSSI measurement job control service producer may collect theperformance measurements from another NSSI measurement job controlservice producer(s) and/or NF measurement job control serviceproducer(s), and aggregate the performance measurements (perhaps doingadditional processing) to the performance measurements of the originalNSSI, and then report performance measurements of the original NSSI tothe customer. The NSSI measurement job control service producer may thusdo more than merely aggregation of the performance measurements.

The performance measurement jobs produced by the various producers mayindicate which performance measurements are to be collected, the periodof collection and where the performance measurements are to bedelivered, among others. The measurements requested may include networkmeasurements such as packet transmission/reception or handoverperformance (e.g., number of requests and failures/successes) betweenneighbor cells. The results of the performance measurements may be used,for example to determine KPIs or for network optimization.

The following use cases describe the functions of performancemeasurement job creation for Network Function (NF), NSI, NSSI andnetwork. The performance measurement job creation of the different usecases add that upon receiving the request, the service producer firstchecks whether the performance measurement jobs to be created formonitoring the NF/NSSLNS/network performance already exist and if theperformance measurement job exists, the service producer sends aresponse indicating that the requested performance measurement job canbe supported by the existing job; otherwise, a new performancemeasurement job is created. Similar changes may be added in the postcondition to indicate that the requested performance measurement job issupported by the existing job or new job. The performance measurementjob control service producer may further request another measurement jobcontrol service producer to create measurement job(s) for theconstituent NSSI(s)/NF(s). The measurement job control service producermay collect the performance data from the performance data reportingservice producer (e.g., performance data file reporting serviceproducer, or performance data streaming service producer) for the NF(s)or constituent NSSI(s)/NF(s), aggregate or calculate (or process) theperformance data per the measurement job creation request, and send theperformance data report(s) to the consumer.

The network discussed herein may be a complete network or a sub-network.

Thus, the use cases in TS 28.550 may be provided as:

5.11.1.1 Creation of Measurement Job for 3GPP NF(s)

<<Uses>> Use case stage Evolution/Specification Related use Goal Toenable the authorized consumer to create a measurement job forcollecting the performance data of 3GPP NF(s). Actors and Roles Anauthorized consumer of NF measurement job control service. Telecomresources 3GPP NF(s); Producer of the NF measurement job controlservice. Assumptions N/A Pre-conditions The 3GPP NF(s) have beendeployed. The NF measurement job control service producer is inoperation. Begins when The authorized consumer needs to createmeasurement job for collecting the performance data of 3GPP NF(s). Step1 (M) The authorized consumer requests the NF measurement job controlservice producer to create measurement job to collect the performancedata of 3GPP NF(s). The request needs to indicate that the performancedata needs to be reported by performance data file or by performancedata streaming. Step 2 (M) The NF measurement job control serviceproducer checks if the requested NF measurement job can be supported bythe existing NF measurement job(s). If the result is true, the NFmeasurement job control service producer responds to the request andindicates that requested NF measurement job is supported by the existingNF measurement job(s); Else, the NF measurement job control serviceproducer requests the 3GPP NF(s) to create the measurement job tocollect the performance data, per the received measurement job creationrequest. Ends when All the steps identified above are successfullycompleted. Exceptions One of the steps identified above fails.Post-conditions The measurement job for 3GPP NF(s) has been created andthe 3GPP NF(s) generate the performance data for the NF measurement job;or The requested NF measurement job is not created but supported by theexisting NF measurement job(s), according to step 2. TraceabilityREQ-MJCS_NF-FUN-1, REQ-MJCS_NF-FUN-2, and REQ- MJCS_NF-FUN-3

5.1.2.1.2 Creation of measurement job for NSSI(s)

<<Uses>> Use case stage Evolution/Specification Related use Goal Toenable the authorized consumer to create a measurement job forcollecting the performance data of NSSI(s). Actors and Roles Anauthorized consumer of NSSI measurement job control service. Telecomresources NSSI(s); NSSI measurement job control service producer; NFmeasurement job control service producer; NF performance data filereporting service producer and/or NF performance data streaming serviceproducer; NSSI performance data file reporting service producer and/orNSSI performance data streaming service producer. Assumptions N/APre-conditions The NSSI(s) have been deployed. The NSSI measurement jobcontrol service producer is in operation. Begins when The authorizedconsumer needs to create measurement job for collecting the performancedata of NSSI(s). Step 1 (M) The authorized consumer requests the NSSImeasurement job control service producer to create an NSSI measurementjob to collect the performance data of NSSI(s). The request needs toindicate that the performance data needs to be reported by performancedata file or by performance data streaming. Step 2 (M) The NSSImeasurement job control service producer checks if Creation of therequested NSSI measurement job can be supported by the measurementexisting NSSI measurement job(s). job for If the result is true, theNSSI measurement job control service 3GPP NF producer responds to therequest and indicates that the requested NSSI measurement job issupported by the existing NSSI measurement job(s); Else, the NSSImeasurement job control service producer decomposes the performance datatype(s) of NSSI(s) into performance data type(s) of the constituentNSSI(s) and/or 3GPP NF(s); and The NSSI measurement job control serviceproducer requests the corresponding the NSSI measurement job controlservice producer(s) to create the NSSI measurement job(s) for theconstituent NSSI(s) if any, and/or The NSSI measurement job controlservice producer consumes the NF measurement job control service tocreate the measurement job(s) for the constituent 3GPP NF(s) (accordingto the use case “Creation of measurement job for 3GPP NF” as describedin clause 5.1.1.1.1). Ends when All the steps identified above aresuccessfully completed. Exceptions One of the steps identified abovefails. Post-conditions The measurement job for NSSI has been created,and the NSSI NSSI measurement job control service producer consumes theNSSI performance data performance data file reporting service and/orNSSI file reporting; performance data streaming service to get theperformance data NSSI of the constituent NSSI(s), and/or consumes the NFperformance data performance data file reporting service and/or NFperformance streaming; data streaming service to get the performancedata of the 3GPP NF constituent NF(s), and generates the performancedata for the performance data NSSI measurement job; or The requestedNSSI measurement file reporting; job is not created but supported by theexisting NSSI 3GPP NF measurement job(s), according to step 2.performance data streaming Traceability REQ-MJCS_NSSI-FUN-1,REQ-MJCS_NSSI-FUN-2, REQ- MJCS_NSSI-FUN-3, REQ-MJCS_NSSI-FUN-4

5.1.3.1.3 Creation of measurement job for NSI(s)

<<Uses>> Use case stage Evolution/Specification Related use Goal Toenable the authorized consumer to create a measurement job forcollecting the performance data of NSI(s). Actors and Roles Anauthorized consumer of NSI measurement job control service. Telecomresources NSI(s); NSI measurement job control service producer; The setof NSSI measurement job control service producer, NSSI performance datafile reporting service producer and/or NSSI performance data streamingservice producer; and/or The set of NF measurement job control serviceproducer, NF performance data file reporting service producer and/or NFperformance data streaming service producer. Assumptions N/APre-conditions The NSI(s) have been deployed. The NSI measurement jobcontrol service producer is in operation. Begins when The authorizedconsumer needs to create measurement job for collecting the performancedata of NSI(s). Step 1 (M) The authorized consumer requests the NSImeasurement job control service producer to create an nsI measurementjob to collect the performance data of NSI(s). The request needs toindicate that the performance data needs to be reported by performancedata file or by performance data streaming. Step 2 (M) The NSImeasurement job control service producer checks if the Creation ofrequested NSI measurement job can be supported by the existingmeasurement job for NSI measurement job(s). NSSI; and/or If the resultis true, the NSI measurement job control service Creation of producerresponds to the request and indicates that the requested measurement jobfor NSI measurement job is supported by the existing NSI 3GPP NFmeasurement job(s); Else, the NSI measurement job control serviceproducer decomposes the performance data type of NSI(s) into performancedata type(s) of the constituent NSSI(s) and/or of constituent 3GPPNF(s); and The NSI measurement job control service producer consumes theNSSI measurement job control service to create the measurement job(s)for the constituent NSSI(s) (according to the use case “Creation ofmeasurement job for NSSI(s)” as described in clause 5.1.2.1.1), or TheNSI measurement job control service producer consumes the NF measurementjob control service to create the measurement job(s) for the constituent3GPP NF(s) (according to the use case “Creation of measurement job for3GPP NF” as described in clause 5.1.1.1.1). Ends when All the stepsidentified above are successfully completed. Exceptions One of the stepsidentified above fails.

5.1.4.1.1 Creation of measurement job for 3GPP network(s)

<<Uses>> Use case stage Evolution/Specification Related use Goal Toenable the authorized consumer to create a measurement job forcollecting the network performance data that are not specific to networkslicing. Actors and Roles An authorized consumer of Network measurementjob control service. Telecom resources 3GPP network(s); Networkmeasurement job control service producer; NF measurement job controlservice producer; NF performance data file reporting service producerand/or NF performance data streaming service producer. Assumptions N/APre-conditions The 3GPP network(s) have been deployed; The networkmeasurement job control service producer is in operation. Begins whenThe authorized consumer needs to create a network measurement job forcollecting the network performance data that are not specific to networkslicing. Step 1 (M) The authorized consumer requests the networkmeasurement job control service producer to create measurement job tocollect the network performance data that are not specific to networkslicing. The request needs to indicate that the performance data needsto be reported by performance data file or by performance datastreaming. Step 2 (M) Tire network measurement job control serviceproducer checks Creation of if the requested network measurement job canbe supported by measurement the existing network measurement job(s). jobfor If the result is true, the network measurement job control 3GPP NFservice producer responds to the request and indicates that therequested network measurement job is supported by the existing networkmeasurement job(s); Else, the network measurement job control serviceproducer decomposes the performance data type of 3GPP network(s) intoperformance data type(s) of the constituent 3GPP NF(s), and consumes theNF measurement job control service to request creation of themeasurement job(s) for the constituent 3GPP NF(s) (according to the usecase “Creation of measurement job for 3GPP NF” as described in clause5.1.1.1.1). Ends when All the steps identified above are successfullycompleted. Exceptions One of the steps identified above fails.Post-conditions The measurement job for 3GPP network(s) has beencreated, 3GPP NF and the netw ork measurement job control serviceproducer performance consumes the NF performance data file reportingservice data file and/or NF performance data streaming service to getthe reporting; performance data of the constituent NF(s), and generatesthe 3GPP NF performance data for the network measurement job; orperformance Tire requested network measurement job is not created butdata streaming supported by the existing network measurement job(s),according to step 2. Traceability REQ-MJCS_NW-FUN-1, REQ-MJCS_NW-FUN-2,REQ- MJCS_NW-FUN-3, and REQ-MJCS_NW-FUN-4

After performance measurement job creation, the performance measurementsare reported to monitor the performance of 3GPP NF, NSSI, NSI andnon-slice-specific network by performance data file reporting andperformance data streaming services. For performance data filereporting, a service producer may send a notification to a consumer toindicate a measurement data file is ready. The consumer can in responsesend a request to fetch the performance data file. For performance datastreaming, once the performance data are ready, a producer may send theperformance data by streaming manner to the consumer. The performancedata collection and reporting interval of the performance data streamingare the same, and may be configurable.

The following use cases describe the functions of performacnemeasurement job termination for NF, NSI. NSSI and networks. Theperformance measurement job creation of the different use cases add thatupon receiving the request, the service producer first checks whetherthe performance measurement job is currently serving other consumers,and if so, the service producer sends a response indicating that theperformance measurement job is currently serving other consumers andcannot be terminated; otherwise, the performance measurement job isterminated. Similar changes may be added in the post condition toindicate that the requested performance measurement job may or may notbe terminated.

5.1.1.1.x Termination of Measurement Job for 3GPP NF(s)

<<Uses>> Use case stage Evolution/Specification Related use Goal Toenable the authorized consumer to request the NF measurement job controlservice producer to terminate a NF measurement job. Actors and Roles Anauthorized consumer of NF measurement job control service. Telecomresources 3GPP NF(s) NF measurement job control service producer.Assumptions N/A Pre-conditions The NF measurement job has been created.Begins when The authorized consumer does not need the NF measurement jobthat is collecting the performance data of 3GPP NF(s). Step 1 (M) Theauthorized consumer requests the NF measurement job control serviceproducer to terminate a measurement job that is collecting theperformance data of 3GPP NF(s). Step 2 (M) The NF measurement jobcontrol service producer checks if the NF measurement job is currentlyserving other consumers. If the result is true, the NF measurement jobcontrol service producer does not terminate the NF measurement job, butresponds to the request and indicates that NF measurement job is servingother consumers; Else, the NF measurement job control service producerrequests the NF(s) to terminate the measurement job, and acknowledges tothe subject consumer about successful termination of the NF measurementjob. Ends when All the steps identified above are successfullycompleted. Exceptions One of the steps identified above fails.Post-conditions The NF measurement job is terminated, or still retainedto serve other consumers according to step 2. TraceabilityREQ-MJCS_NF-FUN-x and REQ-MJCS_NF-FUN-y

5.1.2.1.x Termination of Measurement Job for NSSI(s)

<<Uses>> Use case stage Evolution/Specification Related use Goal Toenable the authorized consumer to request the NSSI measurement jobcontrol service producer to terminate an NSSI measurement job. Actorsand Roles An authorized consumer of NSSI measurement job controlservice. Telecom resources NSSI(s) NSSI measurement job control serviceproducer. NF measurement job control service producer Assumptions N/APre-conditions The NSSI measurement job has been created. Begins whenThe authorized consumer does not need the NSSI measurement job. Step 1(M) The authorized consumer requests the NSSI measurement job controlservice producer to terminate a measurement job that is collecting theperformance data of NSSI(s). Step 2 (M) The NSSI measurement job controlservice producer checks if the Termination NSSI measurement job iscurrently serving other consumers. of measurement If the result is true,the NSSI measurement job control service job for 3GPP producer does notterminate the NSSI measurement job, but NF(s) responds to the requestand indicates that NSSI measurement job is serving other consumers;Else, the NSSI measurement job control service producer terminates theNSSI measurement job, and acknowledges to the subject consumer abouttermination; and The NSSI measurement job control service producerrequests the corresponding NSSI measurement job control serviceproducer(s) to terminate the the measurement job(s) of the constituentNSSI(s) if any, and The NSSI measurement job control service producerconsumes the NF measurement job control service to request terminationof the measurement job(s) of the constituent 3GPP NF(s) if any(according to the use case “Termination of measurement job for 3GPPNF(s)” as described in clause 5.1.1.1.x). Ends when All the stepsidentified above are successfully completed. Exceptions One of the stepsidentified above fails. Post-conditions The NSSI measurement job isterminated, or still retained to serve other consumers according to step2. Traceability REQ-MJCS_NSSI-FUN-x and REQ-MJCS_NSSI-FUN-y

5.1.3.1.x Termination of Measurement Job for NSI(s)

<<Uses>> Use case stage Evolution/Specification Related use Goal Toenable the authorized consumer to request the NSI measurement jobcontrol service producer to terminate an nsI measurement job. Actors andRoles An authorized consumer of NSI measurement job control service.Telecom resources NSI(s); NSI measurement job control service producer;NSSI measurement job control service producer; NF measurement jobcontrol service producer. Assumptions N/A Pre-conditions The NSImeasurement job has been created. Begins when The authorized consumerdoes not need the NSI measurement job. Step 1 (M) The authorizedconsumer requests the NSI measurement job control service producer toterminate an nsI measurement job that is collecting the performance dataof NSI(s). Step 2 (M) The NSI measurement job control service producerchecks if the Termination NSI measurement job is currently serving otherconsumers. of If the result is true, the NSI measurement job controlservice measurement producer does not terminate the NSI measurement job,but responds job for to the request and indicates that NSI measurementjob is serving NSSI(s); other consumers; Termination Else, the NSImeasurement job control service producer terminates of the NSImeasurement job, and acknowledges to the subject measurement consumerabout termination; and job for 3GPP The NSI measurement job controlservice producer consumes the NF(s) NSSI measurement job control serviceto request termination of the measurement job(s) of the constituentNSSI(s) if any (according to the use case “Termination of measurementjob for NSSI(s)” as described in clause 5.1.2.1.x), and The NSImeasurement job control service producer consumes the NF measurement jobcontrol service to request termination of the measurement job(s) of theconstituent 3GPP NF(s) if any (according to the use case “Termination ofmeasurement job for 3GPP NF(s)” as described in clause 5.1.1.1.x). Endswhen All the steps identified above are successfully completed.Exceptions One of the steps identified above fails. Post-conditions TheNSI measurement job is terminated, or still retained to serve otherconsumers according to step 2. Traceability REQ-MJCS_NSI-FUN-x andREQ-MJCS_NSI-FUN-y

5.1.4.1.x Termination of Measurement Job for 3GPP Network(s)

<<Uses>> Use case stage Evolution/Specification Related use Goal Toenable the authorized consumer to request the network measurement jobcontrol service producer to terminate a network measurement job. Actorsand Roles An authorized consumer of network measurement job controlservice. Telecom resources NSSI(s); Network measurement job controlservice producer; NF measurement job control service producer.Assumptions N/A Pre-conditions The network measurement job has beencreated. Begins when The authorized consumer does not need the networkmeasurement job. Step 1 (M) The authorized consumer requests the networkmeasurement job control service producer to terminate a networkmeasurement job that is collecting the performance data of network(s).Step 2 (M) The network measurement job control service producer checksif Termination the network measurement job is currently serving other ofconsumers. measurement If the result is true, the network measurementjob control service job for 3GPP producer does not terminate the networkmeasurement job, but NF(s) responds to the request and indicates thatnetwork measurement job is serving other consumers; Else, the networkmeasurement job control service producer terminates the networkmeasurement job, and acknowledges to the subject consumer abouttermination, and consumes the NF measurement job control service torequest termination of the measurement job(s) of the constituent 3GPPNF(s) (according to the use case “Termination of measurement job for3GPP NF(s)” as described in clause 5.1.1.1.x). Ends when All the stepsidentified above are successfully completed. Exceptions One of the stepsidentified above fails. Post-conditions The network measurement job isterminated, or still retained to serve other consumers according to step2. Traceability REQ-MJCS_NW-FUN-x and REQ-MJCS_NW-FUN-y

REQ-MJCS_NF-FUN-3

The NF measurement job control service producer shall have thecapability to create a measurement job at 3GPP NF(s).

REQ-MJCS_NSSI-FUN-4

The NSSI measurement job control service producer shall have thecapability to create a measurement job for NSSI(s).

REQ-MJCS_NSI-FUN-4

The NSSI measurement job control service producer shall have thecapability to create a measurement job for NSI(s).

REQ-MJCS_NW-FUN-4

The network measurement job control service producer shall have thecapability to create a measurement job for 3GPP network(s).

REQ-MJCS_NF-FUN-x

The NF measurement job control service producer shall have thecapability to terminate a measurement job at 3GPP NF(s).

REQ-MJCS_NF-FUN-y

The NF measurement job control service producer shall have thecapability to allow its authorized consumer to request termination of aNF measurement job.

Req-Mjcs_Nssi-Fun-x

The NSSI measurement job control service producer shall have thecapability to terminate an NSSI measurement job.

REQ-MJCS_NSSI-FUN-y

The NSSI measurement job control service producer shall have thecapability to allow its authorized consumer to request termination of anNSSI measurement job.

REQ-MJCS_NSI-FUN-x

The NSI measurement job control service producer shall have thecapability to terminate an nsI measurement job.

REQ-MJCS_NSI-FUN-y

The NSI measurement job control service producer shall have thecapability to allow its authorized consumer to request termination of annsI measurement job.

REQ-MJCS_NW-FUN-x

The network measurement job control service producer shall have thecapability to terminate an nsI measurement job.

REQ-MJCS_NW-FUN-y

The network measurement job control service producer shall have thecapability to allow its authorized consumer to request termination of anetwork measurement job.

In various embodiments, the measurement job control service producer maybe configured to receive, from an authorized consumer, a request toconsume a measurement job control service, analyze the request, takeappropriate action to satisfy the request and respond to the authorizedconsumer about the result of the request. The request may be to create ameasurement job to collect the performance data for a NF, NSSI, NSI, ornetwork.

To create a measurement job for the NF, the NF measurement job controlservice producer may be configured to check if the requested measurementjob can be supported by an existing NF measurement job(s) and create theNF measurement job(s) if no measurement job exists to support therequested measurement job, and respond to the consumer that therequested job can be supported by existing job(s) if the job(s) exist.

To create a measurement job for NSSI, the NSSI measurement job controlservice producer may be configured to check if the requested measurementjob can be supported by an existing NSSI measurement job(s), and if themeasurement job exists, respond to the consumer that the requested jobcan be supported by the existing job(s). If no measurement job exists tosupport the requested measurement job, the NSSI measurement job controlservice producer may be configured to decompose the NSSI performancedata types into the data type of constituent NSSI(s) and/or 3GPP NF,request the NSSI measurement job control service producer to createmeasurement job(s) for the constituent NSSI(s), consume the NFmeasurement job control service producer to create NF measurement job(s)and respond to the consumer that the requested job(s) have been created.

To create a measurement job for NSI, the NSI measurement job controlservice producer may be configured to check if the requested measurementjob can be supported by an existing NSI measurement job(s) and if themeasurement job exists, respond to the consumer that the requested jobcan be supported by the existing job(s). If no measurement job exists tosupport the requested measurement job, the NSI measurement job controlservice producer may be configured to decompose the NSI performance datatypes into the data type of constituent NSSI(s) and/or 3GPP NF, consumethe NSSI measurement job control service producer to create measurementjob(s) for the constituent NSSI(s), consume the NF measurement jobcontrol service producer to create NF measurement job(s); and respond tothe consumer that the requested job(s) have been created.

To create a measurement job for a network, the network measurement jobcontrol service producer may be configured to check if the requestedmeasurement job can be supported by an existing network measurementjob(s), and if the measurement job exists, respond to the consumer thatthe requested job can be supported by the existing job(s). If nomeasurement job exists to support the requested measurement job, thenetwork measurement job control service producer may be configured to:decompose the network performance data types into the data type of 3GPPNF(s), consume the NF measurement job control service producer to createan NF measurement job(s) and respond to the consumer that the requestedjob(s) have been created.

On the other hand, the request may be to terminate a measurement job tostop collecting the performance data for a NF, NSSI, NSI, or network. Toterminate a measurement job for a NF, the NF measurement job controlservice producer may be configured to: check if the requestedmeasurement job is serving other consumers, terminate the NF measurementjob(s) if other consumers are not being serviced, and respond to theconsumer that the requested job is currently serving other consumers.

To terminate a measurement job for a NSSI, the NSSI measurement jobcontrol service producer may be configured to: check if the requestedmeasurement job is serving other consumers and respond to the consumerthat the requested job is currently serving other consumers. If themeasurement job is not serving other consumers, then the NSSImeasurement job control service producer may be configured to: decomposethe NSSI performance data types into the data type of the constituentNSSI(s) and/or 3GPP NF, request the NSSI measurement job control serviceproducer to terminate the measurement job(s) for the constituentNSSI(s), consume the NF measurement job control service producer toterminate NF measurement job(s) and respond to the consumer that therequested job(s) have been terminated.

To terminate a measurement job for an NSI, the NSI measurement jobcontrol service producer may be configured to: check if the requestedmeasurement job is serving other consumers and respond to the consumerthat the requested job is currently serving other consumers. If themeasurement job is not serving other consumers, then the NSI measurementjob control service producer may be configured to: decompose the NSIperformance data types into the data type of the constituent NSSI(s)and/or 3GPP NF, consume the NSSI measurement job control serviceproducer to terminate the measurement job(s) for the constituent NSSI(s)consume the NF measurement job control service producer to terminate theNF measurement job(s) and respond to the consumer that the requestedjob(s) have been terminated.

To terminate a measurement job for a network, the network measurementjob control service producer may be configured to: check if therequested measurement job is serving other consumers and respond to theconsumer that the requested job is currently serving other consumers. Ifthe measurement job is not serving other consumers, then the networkmeasurement job control service producer may be configured to: decomposethe network performance data types into the data type of the 3GPP NF(s),consume the NF measurement job control service producer to terminate theNF measurement job(s) and respond to the consumer that the requestedjob(s) have been terminated.

Although an embodiment has been described with reference to specificexample embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications andchanges may be made to these embodiments without departing from thebroader scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the specificationand drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than arestrictive sense. The accompanying drawings that form a part hereofshow, by way of illustration, and not of limitation, specificembodiments in which the subject matter may be practiced. Theembodiments illustrated are described in sufficient detail to enablethose skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed herein.Other embodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such thatstructural and logical substitutions and changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of this disclosure. This Detailed Description,therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope ofvarious embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along withthe full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted withthe understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit thescope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separate embodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus of a performance measurement jobcontrol service producer, the apparatus comprising: processing circuitryarranged to: receive a performance measurement job request to create orterminate a performance measurement job to collect performance data fora managed entity from a fifth generation (5G) network including networkslicing; determine, in response to reception of the performancemeasurement job request, whether an existing performance measurement jobis able to support the performance measurement job if the performancemeasurement job request is to create the performance measurement job andwhether the performance measurement job is serving another managedentity if the performance measurement job request is to terminate theperformance measurement job; if the performance measurement job requestis to create the performance measurement job: if the existingperformance measurement job is able to support the performancemeasurement job, generate a response with an indication that theperformance measurement job is supported by the existing performancemeasurement job, and if the existing performance measurement job isunable to support the performance measurement job, fulfill theperformance measurement job request; and if the performance measurementjob request is to terminate the performance measurement job: if theperformance measurement job is serving another consumer, generateanother response that the performance measurement job request will notbe fulfilled, and if the performance measurement job is not servinganother consumer, fulfill the performance measurement job request; and amemory arranged to store the performance measurement job request.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein: the managed entity is a network function(NF), the performance measurement job control service producer is an NFmeasurement job control service producer, the performance measurementjob is creation of a NF measurement job to collect performance data ofthe NF, the existing performance measurement job is an existing NFmeasurement job, and the processing circuitry is arranged to generatethe response in response to a determination that the existing NFmeasurement job is able to support the NF measurement job, the responsecomprising an indication that the NF measurement job is supported by theexisting NF measurement job.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: themanaged entity is a network function (NF), the performance measurementjob control service producer is an NF measurement job control serviceproducer, the performance measurement job request is an NF measurementjob request for creation of a NF measurement job to collect performancedata of the NF, the existing performance measurement job is an existingNF measurement job, and in response to a determination that the existingNF measurement job is unable to support the NF measurement job, theprocessing circuitry is arranged to generate the NF measurement jobrequest for transmission to the NF.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein: the performance measurement job control service producer is anetwork function (NF) measurement job control service producer, themanaged entity is an NF, the performance measurement job request istermination of a NF measurement job that collecting performance data ofthe NF, and the processing circuitry is arranged to generate the otherresponse in response to a determination that the NF measurement job isserving the other managed entity, the other response comprising anindication that the NF measurement job is serving at least one otherconsumer.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the managed entity is anetwork function (NF), the performance measurement job control serviceproducer is an NF measurement job control service producer, theperformance measurement job request is an NF measurement job request fortermination of a NF measurement job for collection of performance dataof the NF, and in response to a determination that the NF measurementjob is not serving the other managed entity, the processing circuitry isarranged to: generate, for transmission to the NF, a NF measurement jobtermination request, and generate, for transmission to the managedentity, an acknowledgment of successful termination of the NFmeasurement job.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the managedentity is a Network Slice Subnet Instance (NSSI) of the 5G network, theperformance measurement job control service producer is an NSSImeasurement job control service producer, the performance measurementjob is creation of an NSSI measurement job to collect performance dataof the NSSI, the existing performance measurement job is an existingNSSI measurement job, and the processing circuitry is arranged togenerate the response in response to a determination that the existingNSSI measurement job is able to support the NSSI measurement job, theresponse comprising an indication that the NSSI measurement job issupported by the existing NSSI measurement job.
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein: the managed entity is a Network Slice Subnet Instance(NSSI) of the 5G network, the performance measurement job controlservice producer is an NSSI measurement job control service producer,the performance measurement job request is an NSSI measurement jobcreation request for creation of an NSSI measurement job to collectperformance data, the existing performance measurement job is anexisting NSSI measurement job, and in response to a determination thatthe existing NSSI measurement job is unable to support the NSSImeasurement job, the processing circuitry is arranged to: decompose aperformance data type of the NSSI into a performance data type of atleast one of a constituent NSSI or a constituent NF, and at least oneof: generate the NSSI measurement job request for transmission to acorresponding NSSI measurement job control service producer to createthe NSSI measurement job for the constituent NSSI to collect performancedata of the constituent NSSI, or generate the NF measurement job requestfor transmission to a corresponding NF measurement job control serviceproducer to create an NF measurement job to collect performance data ofthe constituent NF.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the managedentity is a Network Slice Subnet Instance (NSSI) of the 5G network, theperformance measurement job control service producer is an NSSImeasurement job control service producer, the performance measurementjob request comprises termination of an NSSI measurement job collectingperformance data of the NSSI, and the processing circuitry is arrangedto generate the other response in response to a determination that theNSSI measurement job is serving the other managed entity, the otherresponse comprising an indication that the NSSI measurement job isserving at least one other managed entity.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein: the managed entity is a Network Slice Subnet Instance (NSSI) ofthe 5G network, the performance measurement job control service produceris an NSSI measurement job control service producer, the performancemeasurement job request is an NSSI measurement job request fortermination of an NSSI measurement job, in response to a determinationthat the NSSI measurement job is not serving the other managed entity,the processing circuitry is arranged to terminate the NSSI measurementjob and generate, for transmission to the managed entity, anacknowledgment of successful termination of the NSSI measurement job,and termination of the NSSI measurement job comprises at least one of:generation, for transmission to a corresponding NSSI measurement jobcontrol service producer, of a request for the corresponding NSSImeasurement job control service producer to terminate the NSSImeasurement job of a constituent NSSI, and generation, for transmissionto a corresponding NF measurement job control service producer, of arequest for the corresponding NF measurement job control serviceproducer to terminate the NF measurement job of a constituent NF. 10.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the managed entity is a network sliceinstance (NSI) of the 5G network, the performance measurement jobcontrol service producer is an NSI measurement job control serviceproducer, the performance measurement job request is creation of an NSImeasurement job to collect performance data of the NSI, the existingperformance measurement job is an existing NSI measurement job, and theprocessing circuitry is arranged to generate the response in response toa determination that the existing NSI measurement job is able to supportthe NSI measurement job, the response comprising an indication that theNSI measurement job is supported by the existing NSI measurement job.11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the managed entity is a networkslice instance (NSI) of the 5G network, the performance measurement jobcontrol service producer is an NSI measurement job control serviceproducer, the performance measurement job request is creation of an NSImeasurement job to collect performance data, the existing performancemeasurement job is an existing NSI measurement job, and in response to adetermination that the existing NSI measurement job is unable to supportthe NSI measurement job, the processing circuitry is arranged to:decompose a performance data type of the NSI into a performance datatype of at least one of a constituent NSSI or a constituent NF, and atleast one of: generate the NSSI measurement job request for transmissionto a corresponding NSSI measurement job control service producer tocreate the NSSI measurement job for the constituent NSSI to collectperformance data of the constituent NSSI, and generate the NFmeasurement job request for transmission to a corresponding NFmeasurement job control service producer to create an NF measurement jobto collect performance data of the constituent NF.
 12. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein: the managed entity is a network slice instance (NSI)of the 5G network, the performance measurement job control serviceproducer is an NSI measurement job control service producer, theperformance measurement job comprises termination of an NSI measurementjob collecting performance data of the NSI, and the processing circuitryis arranged to generate the other response in response to adetermination that the NSI measurement job is serving the other managedentity, the other response comprising an indication that the NSImeasurement job is serving at least one other managed entity.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein: the managed entity is a network sliceinstance (NSI) of the 5G network, the performance measurement jobcontrol service producer is an NSI measurement job control serviceproducer, the performance measurement job request is an NSI measurementjob request for termination of an NSI measurement job, in response to adetermination that the NSI measurement job is not serving the othermanaged entity, the processing circuitry is arranged to terminate theNSI measurement job and generate, for transmission to the managedentity, an acknowledgment of successful termination of the NSImeasurement job after termination of the NSI measurement job, andtermination of the NSI measurement job comprises at least one of:generation, for transmission to a corresponding NSSI measurement jobcontrol service producer, of a termination request for the correspondingNSSI measurement job control service producer to terminate a NSSImeasurement job of a constituent NSSI, and generation, for transmissionto a corresponding NF measurement job control service producer, of atermination request to terminate an NF measurement job of a constituentNF.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the performance measurementjob control service producer is a network measurement job controlservice producer, the performance measurement job is creation of anetwork measurement job to collect performance data of the network thatare not specific to network slicing, the existing performancemeasurement job is an existing network measurement job, and theprocessing circuitry is arranged to generate the response in response toa determination that the existing network measurement job is able tosupport the network measurement job, the response comprising anindication that the network measurement job is supported by the existingnetwork measurement job.
 15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: theperformance measurement job control service producer is a networkmeasurement job control service producer, the performance measurementjob is creation of a network measurement job to collect performance dataof the network that are not specific to network slicing, the existingperformance measurement job is an existing network measurement job, andin response to a determination that the existing network measurement jobis unable to support the network measurement job, the processingcircuitry is arranged to: decompose a performance data type of thenetwork into a performance data type of a constituent NF, and generatethe NF measurement job request for transmission to a corresponding NFmeasurement job control service producer to create an NF measurement jobto collect performance data of the constituent NF.
 16. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein: the performance measurement job control serviceproducer is a network measurement job control service producer, if theperformance measurement job comprises termination of a networkmeasurement job to collect performance data of the network that are notspecific to network slicing, the processing circuitry is arranged togenerate the other response in response to a determination that thenetwork measurement job is serving the other managed entity, the otherresponse comprising an indication that the network measurement job isserving at least one other managed entity, and if the performancemeasurement job comprises termination of a network measurement jobcollecting performance data of the network that are not specific tonetwork slicing, in response to a determination that the networkmeasurement job is not serving the other managed entity: the processingcircuitry is arranged to terminate the network measurement job andgenerate, for transmission to the managed entity, an acknowledgment ofsuccessful termination of the network measurement job after terminationof the network measurement job, and termination of the networkmeasurement job comprises generation, for transmission to acorresponding NF measurement job control service producer, of atermination request to terminate an NF measurement job of a constituentNF.
 17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that storesinstructions for execution by one or more processors of a performancemeasurement job control service producer, the one or more processors toconfigure the performance measurement job control service producer to,when the instructions are executed: receive, from a managed entity, aperformance measurement job request for a performance measurement job,the performance measurement job comprising creation or termination ofperformance data collection for a network function (NF), a network sliceinstance (NSI), or a Network Slice Subnet Instance (NSSI) of a fifthgeneration (5G) network, or a 5G network; determine, in response toreception of the performance measurement job request, whether: theperformance measurement job is supported by an existing performancemeasurement job, if the performance measurement job comprises thecreation of the performance data, and the performance measurement job isserving another managed entity, if the performance measurement jobcomprises the termination of the performance data; and transmit, to themanaged entity and independent of the managed entity, a performancemeasurement response that indicates: the performance measurement job issupported by an existing performance measurement job, if the performancemeasurement job comprises the creation of the performance data and theperformance measurement job is supported by the existing performancemeasurement job, and the performance measurement job request will not befulfilled, if the performance measurement job comprises the terminationof the performance data and the performance measurement job is servinganother managed entity.
 18. The medium of claim 17, whereininstructions, when executed, further configure the performancemeasurement job control service producer to: create the performancemeasurement job, if the performance measurement job comprises thecreation of the performance data and the performance measurement job isunsupported by an existing performance measurement job, and terminatethe performance measurement job and acknowledge successful terminationof the performance measurement job to the managed entity, if theperformance measurement job comprises the termination of the performancedata and the performance measurement job is not serving another managedentity.
 19. An apparatus of a performance measurement job controlservice producer, the apparatus comprising: processing circuitryarranged to: receive, from a managed entity, a performance measurementjob request for a performance measurement job, the performancemeasurement job comprising creation or termination of performance datacollection for a network function (NF), a network slice instance (NSI),or a Network Slice Subnet Instance (NSSI) of a fifth generation (5G)network, or a 5G network, determine, in response to reception of theperformance measurement job request, whether: the performancemeasurement job is supported by an existing performance measurement job,if the performance measurement job comprises the creation of theperformance data, and the performance measurement job is serving anothermanaged entity, if the performance measurement job comprises thetermination of the performance data: generate, for transmission to themanaged entity, a performance measurement response that indicates: theperformance measurement job is supported by an existing performancemeasurement job, if the performance measurement job comprises thecreation of the performance data and the performance measurement job issupported by the existing performance measurement job, and theperformance measurement job request will not be fulfilled, if theperformance measurement job comprises the termination of the performancedata and the performance measurement job is serving another managedentity; and fulfill the performance measurement job by: creation of theperformance measurement job, if the performance measurement jobcomprises the creation of the performance data and the performancemeasurement job is unsupported by an existing performance measurementjob, and termination of the performance measurement job, if theperformance measurement job comprises the termination of the performancedata and the performance measurement job is not serving another managedentity, a memory arranged to store the performance measurement jobrequest.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, % herein the processingcircuitry is arranged to: if the performance measurement job comprisesthe termination of the performance data and the performance measurementjob is not serving another managed entity, and the managed entity is theNSSI or the NSI at least one of generate, for transmission to acorresponding NSSI measurement job control service producer, atermination request for the corresponding NSSI measurement job controlservice producer to terminate a NSSI measurement job of a constituentNSSI, and generate, for transmission to a corresponding NF measurementjob control service producer, a termination request to terminate an NFmeasurement job of a constituent NF.